Material spreading and broadcasting device



Jan. 4, 1966 w. D. LOVE, JR 3,227,461

MATERIAL SPREADING AND BROADCASTING DEVICE Filed Sept. 28, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

William D. Love, Jr.

M Attorney Jan. 4, 1966 w. D. LOVE, JR 3,227,461

MATERIALSPREADING AND BROADCASTING DEVICE m INVEIETOR.

William D. Love, Jr.

m, Attorney Jan. 4, 1966 W. D. LOVE, JR

MATERIAL SPREADING AND BROADCASTING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 28, 1964 MQ L mm mN mm NV MN INVENTOR.

K0 William D. Love, Jn BY ,4) Attorney United States Patent Office 3,227,461 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 3,227,461 MATERIAL SPREADING AND BROADCASTING DEVICE William D. Love, Jr., Orinda, Calif. (3681 Nordstrom Lane, Lafayette, Calif.) Filed Sept. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 399,711 7 Claims. (Cl. 275-12) This invention relates generally to devices for spreading and broadcasting materials such as pellet fertilizers, seeds, and the like, and more particularly is directed to improvements in a hand-held device of the type disclosed in my co-pending United States patent application for Material Spreading and Broadcasting Device, Serial No. 59,947, filed October 3, 1960, now US. Patent No. 3,457,- 402, and in respect to which this application is a continuation-in-part.

In general, the device with which this invention is concerned includes a housing that can be held with one hand and a rotatable crank mounted on the housing that can be operated by the other hand. Pellet material or the like is stored in the housing, and is deposited selectively on a rotating impeller member that has blades for centrifugally casting the material over a dispersed area.

An object of the present invention is toprovide a novel and improved impeller assembly that is relatively unsusceptible of being clogged by pellet material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an impeller having a blade configuration that affords two material spreading patterns depending on the direction of impeller rotation, one pattern being relatively widespread and the other pattern being more concentrated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved housing construction that is formed from two integrally formed housing portions each of which can advantageously be provided by plastic injection molding processes.

Still another object is to provide a device of the type described having a novel and improved mechanism for selectively controlling the flow of material from the housings storage chamber onto the impeller.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which of the foregoing will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification. It is to be understood however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings (three sheets):

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a material spreading and broadcasting device embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the device shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional side elevation view taken along the line 3-3 as indicated in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional front elevation view taken along the line 44 as shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional plan view taken along the line 55 shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional plan view taken along the line 6-6 shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional plan view taken along the line 77 shown in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along the line 8-8 shown in FIGURE 3,

The disclosed embodiment of the present invention is seen to comprise a housing 11 having bottom, side and internal walls formed and connected to define a bottom impeller chamber 12, an upper material storage chamber 13, and -L-shaped gear chamber 14 (see FIGURE 4) having a horizontal portion 16 disposed between the impeller and storage chambers and a vertical portion 17 disposed adjacent the storage chamber, and an opening 18 in the storage chamber (see also FIGURE 3) selectively communicable with an opening 19 in the impeller chamber. A cover 20 is removably mounted on top of the housing 11 to close the storage chamber. The device further comprises means for selectively communicating the openings 18 and 19, including as shown, a closure gate 21 slidably movable across the opening 18; an impeller 22 rotatably mounted in the impeller chamber and having a vertical shaft 23 extending upwardly into the horizontal gear chamber portion 16; gears 24, 26 and 27 mounted operatively in said gear chamber with the gear 24 mounted on the shaft 23; manually operable means such as crank handle 28 mounted on the exterior of the housing and connected to the gear 27 for rotating the impeller 22 through the gears 26 and 24 and the shaft 23; the impeller 22 including a bottom plate 29 and a plurality of generally radially extending vertical impeller blades 31 provided on top of the plate 29, the blades 31 having their peripheral portions 32 extending radially beyond the peripheral edge 33 of the bottom plate 29, the peripheral blade portions 32 being positioned to pass in closely spaced proximity with the portions 34 and 36 of the housing side walls 37 that define the impeller chamber, and the impeller 22 being mounted for free floating axial movement within upper and lower limits. The impeller blades 31 are also seen in FIGURE 7 to be transversely curved along an are extending generally radially between points adjacent the axis and periphery of of the impeller 22, and the bottom plate 29 is formed with a peripheral bevelled surface 38 (see FIGURE 4) on the lower face 39 thereof to define a thin sharp peripheral edge 33 of the plate 29.

In more detail, the impeller shaft 23 is journaled in holes 41 and 42 respectively provided spaced transversely extending housing walls 43 and 44, the shaft 23 having a flat key surface 46 that engages a keyed axial bore 47 in the hub of impeller 22 so that the impeller rotates with the shaft. The surface 46 is seen to extend axially a slightly longer distance than the hub 48 of the impeller 22, and terminates in a shoulder 49, whereby the impeller 22 can move freely axially between the shoulder 49 and the bottom wall 44. An agitator member 50 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 23 and rotates therewith to stir the flow of material into the opening 18.

Pellet material or the like deposited on the impeller through the opening 19 in the impeller chamber is engaged by the impeller blades 31 and centrifugally cast out through a sidewall opening 51 in the impeller chamber. Since the peripheral blade portions 32 pass closely adjacent the impeller chamber wall portion 34, substantially all of the deposited material is swept out of the impeller chamber. By having the plate edge 33 spaced inwardly from the blade portions 32, and formed with a sharp bevelled edge, there is little possibility of any pellet material becoming jammed between the impeller and the impeller chamber walls. Further, in this regard, the free floating vertical action of the impeller acts additionally to prevent clogging of material against the impeller.

With regard to the arcuate shaped impeller blades 31, and referring in particular to FIGURE 7, it will be appreciated that as the impeller rotates in a counterclockwise direction the material deposited on the impeller will be engaged by the concave sides 52 of the blades and move radially outwardly thereon until reaching the peripheral portions 32 whereupon the material is cast off of the impeller. When the impeller is rotated in the opposite direction, namely clockwise, the material is engaged by the convex sides 53 of the blades 31, and thus moves radially outwardly thereon only to about a mid portion 54 thereof at which point the material is cast off without further substantial acceleration. Consequently, when the impeller is rotated in a clockwise direction, the material is spread over a relatively more concentrated pattern than when the impeller is rotated in a counter clockwise direction.

Considering now another aspect of the present invention, a manually engageable pistol grip handle 56 is mounted extcriorly on the housing 11 and has a generally elongated vertical portion 57 spaced from the housing and an upper horizontal portion 58 interconnecting the housing with the vertical portion 57. The handle 56 had interconnecting hollow compartments 59 and 61 respectively in the vertical and horizontal portions thereof, with the horizontal compartment 61 being in communication with the space 62 underneath a sloped internal wall 63 which defines one side of the storage chamber 13 (see FIGURES 3, 4 and and which has the opening 18 therein. A generally elongated closure member 64 is slidably mounted subjacent the sloped wall 63 and provides at its lower end the gate 21 which is selectively movable over the opening 18 for regulating the flow of material therethrough. A pair of spaced flanges 65 guide the member 64 in its sliding movement. A lever 66 is pivotally mounted within the horizontal compartment 61 and has one end 67 thereof pivotally connected to the closure member 64. A slot 68 is provided in the side wall 70 of the upper handle portion 58, and a finger engageable and displaceable operating member 69 extends through the slot and connects with the other end 71 of the lever 66 for effecting pivotal movement thereof to cause reciprocal movement of the closure member 64. When the grip 56 is grasped by the left hand, the member 69 i positioned at the left side of the handle and located for convenient operation by the left thumb. An elongated flexible resilient member 72 is disposed within the vertical compartment 59 and has its lower end 73 secured adjacent the lower end of the handle portion 57. A pair of spaced internal ribs 74, 76 engage a midportion of the member 72 to act as a fulcrum therefor, and the upper end 78 of the member 72 engages the end 71 of the lever 66 for resiliently urging it in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3. A stop member 79 limits the counter clockwise rotation of the lever 66, and when the lever 66 is in its normal position abutting the stop 79, the closure member 64 is positioned to close off flow through the opening 18 completely. Manual movement of the member 69 to rotate the lever 66 clockwise causes the closure member 64 to move upwardly and open flow through the opening 18.

In accordance with the present invention, means is provided to limit the opening movement of the closure member 64 to a plurality of finite positions which progressively provide a larger flow opening. More particularly, a cam member 81 is pivotally mounted in the horizontal compartment 61 and has a fiat cam surface 82 positioned for abutting engagement with the lever 66 to limit manual clockwise movement thereof. The cam member 81 extends slidably through an opening 83 in the side wall, and has an annular flange 84 disposed adjacent its inner end 86. A resilient bridge member 87 has an opening 88 through which the end 86 extends, and engages the flange 84 to urge the cam member 81 to a normal position as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 8. A pair of diametrically opposed pins 89 are provided on the member 81 and abut against the side wall 70 to limit axial movement of the member toward the wall 70. The pins 89 fit into diametrical slots 91 formed on the inner surface of the wall 70 to prevent rotation of the cam member 81. The outer end 92 of the cam member 81 can be manually grasped and pushed axially inwardly against the resilient bridge 87 to free the ridges 89 from the slot 91 and thereby permit rotation of the cam member. When the member 81 is released, the bridge urges the member 81 back to its normal position with the ridges 89 engaging one of the slots 91. A plurality of the slots 91 are each oriented at different rotational positions to provide a plurality of fixed finite rotational positions for the cam member 81, each of which limits the opening movement of the lever 66 to a predetermined rotational position. Accordingly, the cam member provides a plurality of finite maximum openings for the closure member 64, which are indicated by suitable calibrations on the outer surface of the side wall 70 as seen in FIGURE 2.

Another feature of the invention relates to the provision of an improved housing construction that is advantageously used in forming the housing by plastic injection molding processes. In this regard, the housing is made of an upper portion 92 and a lower portion 93 each of which is formed as a substantially integral member and the two portions being secured together after being molded by suitable fastening means such as the tapping screws 94. In more detail, the integrally formed upper portion 92 has exterior side walls 96, 97, 98 and 99, a first transversely disposed internal wall 101 extending from the side wall 96 and terminating at an end 102 spaced from the opposed side wall 98. The sloped internal wall 63 is connected between the end 102 and an upper portion of the side wall 98. An internal side wall 103 is spaced from the side wall 97 and is secured to the transverse wall 101 to define the vertical gear chamber portion 17. The opening 18 in the sloped wall 63 is disposed adjacent the end 102 of the transverse wall 101. The lower housing portion 93 has side walls 37 including the walls 104, 106, 107 and 108 disposed subjacent the upper portion side walls in substantial alignment therewith. A second transverse wall 43 is disposed completely across the lower housing portion in spaced relation with the transverse wall 101 and sloped wall 63, and is connected to the side walls 104, 106, 107 and 108 to define the horizontal gear chamber portion 16. The transverse wall 109 has an opening 19 therein disposed below the opening 18', and upstanding internal walls 109 are secured to the wall 43 around the opening 19 and abutting the walls 101 and 63 surround the opening 18 to define a free fall chamber 111 communicating between the openings 18 and 19. The back wall 10911 has its upper end 112 spaced slightly below the sloped wall 63 to permit passage therebetween of the slidable closure member 64, with the end 112 also providing vertical support for the lower gate portion 21 of the closure member 64. A bottom transversely extending wall 44 is disposed below the Wall 43 to define the impeller chamber 12.

It is noted that all of the parts of the instant device as described hereinabove, except for the fasteners 94, may be constructed of a suitable plastic resin material. In particular, both the elongated member 72 and bridge 87 which are resilient flexible members can be formed of plastic, in addition to the upper and lower housing portions and the various gears, levers, and manually engageable members. Consequently, the present invention provides a material spreading and broadcasting device that can be inexpensively and easily constructed, and which provides various advantages with regard to improved operation.

I claim:

1. A material spreading and broadcasting device comprising; a compartmented housing providing a lower impeller chamber having a bottom wall, an upper material storage chamber and a gear chamber having a portion disposed between said impeller and storage chambers; manually operable means for controlling the flow of material from said storage to said impeller chamber; an impeller rotatably mounted in said impeller chamber and having a normally vertical shaft extending upwardly into said gear chamber portion; manually operable means for rotating said impeller shaft including a gear train having a gear on said shaft in said chamber portion; said impeller having a bottom plate mounted in close proximity to said bottom wall and a plurality of generally radially extending vertical impeller blades on the top thereof, said impeller and shaft and gear being formed and connected to permit free relative axial displacement between said impeller plate and bottom wall during rotation of said impeller and while maintaining the driving connection between said gear and train.

2. A device as decribed in claim 1 wherein said impeller blades are each transversely curved along an are extending generally radially between points adjacent the axis and periphery of said impeller, and said bottom plate is formed with a peripheral bevelled surface on the lower face thereof to define a thin sharp peripheral edge of said bottom plate.

3. A material spreading and broadcasting device comprising, a housing having connected upper and lower portions; said upper portion being formed as a substantially integral member and having side walls, a first transversely disposed internal wall extending from a first side wall and terminating at an end spaced from an opposed second side wall, an upwardly extending sloped wall secured between said end of said transverse wall and said second side wall, an internal side wall spaced from a third of said housing side walls which interconnects said first two side walls and being secured to said transverse wall to define a vertical gear chamber, said sloped wall having a first opening therein adjacent said transverse wall; said lower housing portion being formed as a substantially integral member and having side walls connected subjacent said upper portion side walls in substantial alignment therewith, a second transverse wall disposed across said lower portion in spaced relation with said first transverse wall and sloped wall and being connected to said lower portion side walls to define a horizontal gear chamber communicating with said vertical chamber, said second transverse wall having a second opening therein disposed below said first opening in said sloped wall, upstanding internal side walls secured to said second transverse wall around said second opening and abutting said walls of said upper portion surrounding said first opening to define a free fall chamber communicating between said first and second openings, and a bottom transversely extending wall spaced below said second transverse wall defining an impeller chamber; an impeller rotatably mounted in said impeller chamber and having a vertical shaft extending into said horizontal gear chamber; gears mounted in said gear chambers and connected to said impeller shaft; manually operable means disposed exteriorly of said housing and connected to said gears for rotating said impeller; and manually operable means for selectively opening and blocking communication through said free fall chamber.

4. A device as described in claim 3 wherein said impeller includes a bottom plate and a plurality of generally radially extending vertical impeller blades provided on top of said plate, said blades each being transversely curved along an are extending generally radially between points adjacent the axis and periphery of said impeller, said blades having their peripheral portions extending radially beyond the peripheral edge of said bottom plate, said peripheral blade portions being positioned to pass in closely spaced proximity with portions of the housing side walls defining said impeller chamber, and said impeller being mounted for axial reciprocation to and from said bottom transversely extending wall.

5. A device as described in claim 4 further including a manually engageable handle mounted exteriorly on said second housing side wall and having a generally elongated vertical portion spaced from said housing and an upper horizontal portion interconnecting said housing and said vertical portion, said handle having interconnecting hollow compartments in said vertical and horizontal portions, said horizontal compartment being disposed in communication with the space in said housing subjacent said sloped wall, a generally elongated closure member slidably mounted subjacent said sloped wall and being selectively movable over said opening therein, said closure member having an upper portion disposed adjacent said upper horizontal compartment of said handle, a lever pivotally mounted in said horizontal compartment and having one end pivotally connected to said upper portion of said closure member, a finger engageable and displaceable operating member secured to said lever for effecting pivotal movement thereof to cause substantially reciprocal movement of said closure member, and an elongated .flexible resilient member disposed in said vertical compartment having its lower end secured to said handle and its upper end engaging said lever for resiliently urging the latter into a position with said closure member disposed in a flow restricting position over said opening in said sloped wall.

6. A device as described in claim 5 wherein a cam member is pivotally mounted in said horizontal compartment for abutting engagement with said lever, said cam member being axially moveable relative to its pivotal axis, means resiliently urging said cam member in one axial direction to a normal axial position, limit means restricting said cam member from rotational movement when in said normal axial position, a manually operable member mounted on said housing and connected to said cam member for moving the latter axially against said resilient means to disengage said limit means and for rotating said cam member when so disengaged, said limit means rotationally restricting said cam member to a plurality of finite rotational position, and said cam member limiting the pivotal movement of said lever to a plurality of finite rotational positions each corresponding to said positions of said cam member for limiting the extent to which said closure member moves out of flow restricting relationship with said opening in said sloped wall to a plurality of fiow restricting positions of said closure member.

7. A material spreading and broadcasting device comprising; a housing having bottom, side and internal walls formed and connected to define a bottom impeller chamber, an upper material storage chamber, and an L-shaped gear chamber having a horizontal portion disposed between said impeller and storage chambers and a vertical portion disposed adjacent said storage chamber, said housing walls including an internal sloped wall defining part of said storage chamber and having a material discharge opening adjacent the lower end thereof registering with said impeller chamber, a manually engageable handle mounted exteriorly on said housing and having a generally elongated vertical portion spaced from said housing and an upper horizontal portion interconnecting said housing and said vertical portion, said handle having interconnecting hollow compartments in said vertical and horizontal portions, said horizontal compartment being disposed in communication with the space in said housing subjacent said sloped wall; a generally elongated closure member slidably mounted subjacent said sloped wall and being selectively movable over said opening therein; said closure member having an upper portion disposed adjacent said upper horizontal compartment of said handle; a lever pivotally mounted in said horizontal compartment and having one end pivotally connected to said upper portion of said closure member; a finger engageable and displaceable operating meber secured to said lever for effecting pivotal movement thereof to cause substantially reciprocal movement of said closure member; an elongated flexible resilient member disposed in said vertical compartment having its lower end secured to said handle and its upper end engaging said lever for resiliently urging the latter into a position with said closure member disposed 3,227,461 I 8 in a flow restricting position over said opening in said References Cited by the Examiner sloped wall; an impeller rotatably mounted in said im- UNITED STATES PATENTS peller chamber and having a vertical shaft extending upwardly into said horizontal portion of said gear chamber; 5O26O4 8/1893 B9nmger 275. 12 gears mounted in said gear chamber and connected to said 5 649953 5/1900 Rmdf'rknecht 2773-12 impeller shaft; and manually operable means disposed 2892286 6/1959 i exteriorly of said housing and connected to said gears for 3096984 7/1963 Garrison 275 12 rotating said impeller shaft. LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MATERIAL SPREADING AND BROADCASTING DEVICE COMPRISING; A COMPARTMENTED HOUSING PROVIDING A LOWER IMPELLER CHAMBER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, AN UPPER MATERIAL STORAGE CHAMBER AND A GEAR CHAMBER HAVING A PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID IMPELLER AND STORAGE CHAMBERS; MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR CONTROLING THE FLOW OF MATERIAL FROM SAID STORAGE TO SAID IMPELLER CHAMBER; AN IMPELLER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID IMPELLER CHAMBER AND HAVING A NORMALLY VERTICAL SHAFT EXTENDING UPWARDLY INTO SAID GEAR CHAMBER PORTION; MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID IMPELLER SHAFT INCLUDING A GEAR TRAIN HAVING A GEAR ON SAID SHAFT IN SAID CHAMBER PORTION; SAID IMPELLER HAVING A BOTTOM PLATE MOUNTED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID BOTTOM WALL AND A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY RADIALLY EXTENING VERTICAL IMPELLER BLADES ON THE TOP THEREOF, SAID IMPELLER AND SHAFT AND GEAR BEING FORMED AND CONNECTED TO PERMIT FREE RELATIVE AXIS DISPLACEMENT BETWEEN SAID IMPELLER PLATE AND BOTTOM WALL DURING ROTATION OF SAID IMPELLER AND WHILE MAINTAINING THE DRIVING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID GEAR AND TRAIN. 